A variety of books are currently on the market which are provided with manipulative pieces or game pieces for use with the book. These types of books especially have a high degree of educational and/or entertainment value for children. For instance, a certain variety of books have manipulative pieces which may be placed on the page to complete a picture. In other books, a number of manipulative pieces need to be placed adjacent to each other in order to complete a picture.
The general concept of attaching the associated manipulatives to the books or other printed matter such as magazines and albums is well known. One method is to attach the manipulatives to the cover of the book with a pressure sensitive adhesive whereby the consumer can peel of the manipulative from the book. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,301,803 and 5,303,825, both Hansen et al., cassettes are attached to printed sheets.
However, in these types of embodiments there is always the risk that because of the attachment method the cover of the book may become permanently defaced. Further, when a larger number of manipulatives are attached, the likelihood of defacement becomes even more acute.
In Grant, U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,387 there is disclosed a combination book and package case assembly wherein the package case for containing the manipulatives is attached to a spiral binding by means of a hinge strip onto which the package case may be attached. However, this type of embodiment is severely limited to manipulatives which are relatively flat.
Accordingly, it would represent an advancement in the art of attaching manipulatives to books if a means of attachment were provided which overcame all of the above-noted drawbacks of the prior art. Also it would represent an advancement in the state of the art if a book with an improved means for containing the manipulatives or other objects was provided which was especially suitable as a travel book. Mention here is also made of Bedol et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,294 which describes an attachment means to a spiral notebook to assist in employing the volume formed by the spiral rings as a storage space.